Fun fact: I wrote this story while I was on the way back from a basketball tournament. Anyway, this is an AU in which Midorima and Takao have recently graduated and decided to go on a road trip to celebrate. Enjoy~
Road trips
"This is entirely your fault," accuses the harsh voice of Midorima.
"My fault? But Shin-chan, I didn't-" Takao attempts to defend himself, but is cut off before he actually has the chance to.
"Exactly. You 'didn't'. You should have." The green-haired male crosses his arms and turns his head away from the other, who barely stops himself from sighing.
"But what exactly should I have done?" He sincerely hopes the question will not serve to further piss the other off. Of course, Midorima being who he is, it does. With an irritated grunt, he reaches up and adjusts his glasses in a way that somehow manages to come off as being sassy.
"I don't know," snaps Midorima sarcastically, "Do I look like a car engineer to you?"
"Do I?" Unable to restrain himself this time, Takao sighs in frustration. He's got limitless patience really, especially when it comes to his beloved Shin-chan, but this is really going too far. Midorima looks taken aback. He clearly hadn't anticipated that the shorter male would respond to his accusations, and is, as a result, quite unsure of how to react. When Takao realizes as much, he instantly regrets having said anything.
"Sorry, Shin-chan. I guess I'm just worried that we won't get to the hotel before dark, and those clouds look like they'll be raining down on us soon..."
To explain their situation a little, Takao and Midorima had been dating for some time already, and had decided that, as a way of spending time together, they would go on a road trip together. Thing had gone remarkably smoothly in the beginning. Now, after three days of crossing the country in a rented car, they had finally ended up running into some trouble. In trying to ensure they'd actually reach their destination, Takao had purposely asked to rent a car with a navigation system installed, which is where the problem begins. Midorima is inherently stubborn, disliking the idea of being told what to do by people who are not his "superiors", as he puts it. The few people he will take orders from include his teachers, his parents, and of course Akashi. Unless it is one of these people talking, though, it is nearly impossible to convince Midorima of anything, let alone the fact that he is wrong. Takao prides himself on the fact that his boyfriend does value his opinion - but that's beside the point. The navigation system is not on the list, which is the important part.
While Takao had known ahead of time that he'd probably have to personally convince his boyfriend to follow the system's instructions, he hadn't anticipated just how difficult Midorima would be about it. He had insisted that, no, they would most certainly not stay on the highway when "their" exit was right there, no matter what the automated voice said. This is why they're currently on an isolated country road, each waiting for the other to say they know how to fix the car. It had been making strange noises for some time, which Takao had dismissed as being unimportant, but now it's completely broken down and refuses to spring back to life.
"... Fine. Nonetheless, you were absolutely wrong to say that the noises were "nothing". I want you to realize as much." Never accepting defeat is simply a part of Midorima's character. As such, he cannot stand to lose an argument. Takao understands as much, so he doesn't mention that their current location is absolutely Midorima's fault.
"Yeah Shin-chan, I know," he mumbles with a soft smile. Almost nobody else has ever understood this, but when Midorima acts all tsundere, it only makes Takao love him more. Midorima blushes a little, picking up on the fondness in the other's voice. A few moments pass in comfortable silence. All of a sudden, a pit-pat sound starts up, and then, before either of them know what's happening, the rain is coming down in dense sheets. Takao and Midorima turn to each other and meet one another's eyes, both thinking the same thing: they'll be sleeping in the car tonight.
It's a relatively comfortable mini-van that looks like it's supposed to be used by busy mothers dropping off not only the kids, but also their friends, at school in the mornings. The chairs in the front seat can be adjusted so they lie completely flat, a feature of which Midorima and Takao take advantage. After flattening out their seats, Takao is sent to retrieve their luggage from the trunk, which he does by artfully stumbling over the seats, climbing past the back row and tossing the bags out one by one for Midorima to catch. He does so effortlessly. Soon enough, they've dug out their emergency camping gear, along with the pillows (Midorima has a very strong personal belief that, when staying at hotels, one should always bring a pillow from home). Using their sleeping bags and the propped-up luggage bags for support, Takao manages to construct a comfortable blanket fort. Night begins to fall outside.
After some fishing around (and some collapsing and reconstructing of the fort), the two find some snacks, which they use to make a rather unsubstantial dinner. By the time the sun has set completely and the stars are beginning to come out, the couple is sitting in their fort, talking about many things in the light of the car's still-glowing dashboard. The rain relentlessly strikes the roof; Takao's beginning to think of it as a somewhat romantic backdrop to their unplanned "casual date", if you can call it that. Towards eleven they lie down and try to make themselves comfortable using the padded seats as mattresses. Takao cuddles up to his boyfriend, and before long they're spooning.
"Hey, Shin-chan?" starts Takao after a while of blissful silence interrupted only by the sound of their breathing.
"What is it?" The green-haired male's voice lacks its usual harsh tone. It's evident that he's enjoying this moment at least as much as Takao is.
"It's nice like this. You know, just you and me, in a blanket fort, close together... I'm really happy."
"... That's good." Midorima then proceeds to do something he almost never does. Pulling Takao closer using the arms that are loosely encircling the shorter male's torso, Midorima nuzzles his face into Takao's dark hair, smiling ever so slightly. Takao eagerly snuggles closer, enjoying his boyfriend's warmth. They fall asleep like this somewhere around 12:30. Just before nodding off, both of them think that perhaps getting lost and having the car break down isn't so bad, if you can go on a road trip with someone you really love.
Cheesy ending is cheesy... Hope you liked it~